Energy Access from the Bottom Up: Start-up and SME Showcase 2018

Energy Access from the Bottom Up: Start-up and SME Showcase 2018

The publication “Energy Access from the Bottom Up: Start-up and SME Showcase 2018” shines a spotlight on 15 innovative African and European start-ups and small- to medium-sized enterprises in the energy access space, mostly active in Africa.

It is prepared as background information to the context of the Business Forum “Decentralized Energy in Developing Countries”, held in Vienna on the 2nd of October 2018. The Business Forum is a side event of the High-Level Conference on “Regional Cooperation to Accelerate Sustainable Energy Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries”, taking place on the 3rd of October 2018 in Vienna, Austria, as part of the Austrian Presidency of the Council for the European Union, and as part of European efforts more broadly to support sustainable energy in Africa. It also marks a follow-up in the discussions initiated and implemented by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development around their initiative Green People’s Energy for Africa as part of the Zambia Off-Grid Investors Forum, held in Lusaka, Zambia, in June 2018.

The aim of the Business Forum, and of this publication, is to contribute to the global efforts to scale up private sector and innovation capacities in Africa to make SDG-7 - and particularly universal access to energy services - a reality by 2030. In particular, the event and publication will provide:

first-hand insights into operations on the ground;

key ideas and recommendations for the public sector;

promote the uptake of renewable energy business opportunities, and

inform about new technology solutions in fields like digitalisation and fintech, which are elementary parts to be considered for increasing sub-regional cooperation and implementing fit-for-use policies and standards.

As a global but locally acting business and know-how exchange hub, ARE with its 150 committed and passionate companies as well as with its partners plays a key role in rolling out new market developments and business technology trends worldwide, as we help to create win-win solutions via the ARE Off-grid Matchmaking Platform.